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Four charged in $5.5m airport heist

Almost two weeks after a daring $5.5 million robbery at the Piarco International Airport, four people, including a woman, are expected to appear in court today on charges connected to the incident.

The 38-year-old Longdenville woman and the men, ages 35, of Longdenville, 42 and 38 of Diego Martin, were charged on Saturday night, following instructions from Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul.

They are expected to appear in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court where the woman and the 35-year-old man will face a charge of money laundering. The woman was also charged with knowingly receiving stolen money.

All three men were charged with robbery with aggravation while the Diego Martin suspects were also charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

The charges were laid by ASP Edwards. The police have recovered $250,000 of the loot.

The charges followed investigations led by DCP Crime Harold Phillip and included ACP Radcliffe Boxill and Sgt Anthony Williams along with other officers of Criminal Investigations Department, Port-of-Spain.

On December 6, around 11.25 am four masked men, armed with high-powered rifles, dressed in camouflage clothing, alighted from a darkly-tinted Toyota Hilux pick-up in the cargo bond area, Golden Grove Road, Piarco.

They held up the security officers guarding the cargo cart with the money belonging to First Citizens’ bank. The money was being transported to Tobago banks.

The getaway vehicle used in the robbery was later found abandoned in Oropune Gardens, Piarco, a few minutes away from the crime scene.